Power Rangers Mental Strike
by Eclipticvibe
Summary: Over a decade has passed and no one has heard from Dimitria. What has she been up to? With the world in danger as a direct result of her questions she must form her own ranger team and ask for the help of those that came before them. AU, OC Centric Set 2 years after Operation Overdrive. MMPR-PRIS rangers will make appearances
1. Finding A Home

Power Rangers Mental Strike

by Eclipticvibe

Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers or any of the characters from the show they are unfortunately the property of Saban/Disney. I have however created my own ranger team and set of villains.

Summary: What ever happened to Dimitria? As it turns out she was trying to find a way to bring back Zordon. With her own ranger team and the help of previous rangers will she be able to? AU, Set 2 years after Operation Overdrive.

Chapter 1: Finding a Home

Dimitria smiled. It was the first time in years that she felt truly happy. For the past 10 years she had been searching the universe for the key to bring him back. He was her friend, her mentor, her hero; he was Zordon. Dimitria now had the answers she had sought after for so many years.

A moth fluttered into Dimitria's sanctuary, landing on a sill near her work space. The purple swirls on its wings flashed a dim light, then settled. It sat close by, watching Dimitria prepare for Zordon's second coming. Her actions however had not gone unnoticed, as she was about to find out.

-o-O-o-

10 year's ago, Zordon sacrificed himself to rid his galaxy of all evil. But as for every other galaxy, it had no effect. In the Messier 83 Galaxy, a small but powerful group was known from all around: the Agents of Force. They never stayed in one place, while leaving a trail of destruction. They are hated by most and feared by others; ruled by their king, Xygar. The only one they had lost to was Zordon after having their home planet overrun by Eltar. Zordon took everything from them, even their revenge.

Faria entered the command chamber visibly concerned. The high heels on her feet clicked against the metal flooring. Her antennas bounced as her long thin legs strode. The purple scales covering her body sparkled from the overhead lights, her black silk cape flowed effortlessly behind her She looked into the small mirror in her hand, it showed Dimitria at her sanctuary getting ready.

Xygar was sitting on his throne. The black cracks on his tan exterior descended as he leaned to watch his queen enter. His large build and the spikes from his shoulders barely fit in the seat.

"That fool from Inquiris has discovered the key to bringing Zordon back, we have to stop her."

He was surprised by her words he stood and made his way over to her. "That's impossible! He was destroyed. Zordon is no more!"

"I believed that myself, but this witch has found a way."

"Don't worry my darling; after all who has been able to stop us when we set our minds on something? I will stop her all on my own!" He held out his clawed fist and grinned.

"I would never doubt you beloved, but if anyone can stop us it is Dimitria."

Xygar walked up to embrace his wife "Then we will simply have to stop her before she realizes we know about her pesky plan." He assured in her ear. Turning to the other side, he called his son. "Tempus, come here!"

Black smoke escaped the side room as the doors opened. Tempus emerged from the cloud, waving a black silk wrapped hand in front of him. The archaic symbols covering the dark burgundy robe cloaking him shifted back into their separate positions.

"Yes father, how may I serve you?"

"Send the Knuckles to attack Dimitria. She has obtained all of the information she needs to bring Zordon back to life. I can't afford for that to happen."

"Yes father, at once." Tempus replied as he rushed out of the chambers.

-o-O-o-

_It's about time we stop her_ Tempus thought. _She has been trying to obtain this information for years but my father decides to stop her now? Now that she has received all the information she needs to bring back the one person that could stop our plans. _

Tempus decided that he would need more than just the knuckles to bring down Dimitria. It was time to put one of his rituals to good use. Once he entered his room he set up the summoning ritual. The clay body laid before him in the middle of the circle. It was surrounded by black candles with two dishes of water placed by its hands. The archaic symbols on his robe swished to wrap around his sleeves, giving off a dim golden glow. Once he had set everything up he proceeded with the summoning.

**Come now I seek you from out of the blue**

**Spirit of destruction I summon you**

**Come now before me do as I bid**

**For all things good we must get rid**

**Being of chaos thoughts now true**

**Come now before me an all new you**

Lightning flashed as the room went dark. Thunder seemed to echo throughout the room reverberating off of the walls. A vortex of pure energy formed in the middle of the room. It lifted the clay figure up and the candles seemed to dance around it breathing life into its hollow form. The water was absorbed into the statue. And the clay began to crack. Horns cracked from the head. A pointed tail struck out from behind, whipping around into life. Large wings protruded from the back, talons ripped forward from the hands and feet. The raven like warrior stepped forward as the remaining pieces of the hollow shell faded to dust.

Tempus stepped forward "I am Tempus. My father wishes for your service. A force of all things pure has made it her mission to bring back one of the universes greatest protectors. We need you to help us stop them."

The creature stepped forward "And just who are you and why do you think I would help you?"

"We are the Agents of Force." Xygar said as he entered the room. "Ahh, Tempus my boy. I am most impressed you summoned a warrior."

"Yes father I figured if anyone could help us it would be the great spirit of chaos and destruction."

"Yes, quite. He would be the perfect soldier to lead the knuckles into battle."

The Creature seemed rather frustrated that it was being ignored. Xygar approached the bird man "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot; my family only wants what you want."

"And just what would that be?" He asked

"Why that's simple, for all things good and pure in the world to be destroyed forever."

"That's a lot of big talk for a small family. If I'm being led into a failed desire, then I will have nothing to do with this. "

Xygar coughed out a laugh, "Our desires are completely possible. There is nothing our family hasn't been able to do, except lose of course." he laughed again, patting Tempus on the back.

"In that case I am the legendary being of chaos and destruction. I bring forth terror from the skies and from the darkness. But you may call me Gokamé."

"I am honored to have you join me and my family in our quest to control the universe. I am the mighty Xygar, King of the Agents of Force and the center of fear in our galaxy. This is my wife Faria, the Queen; and our son Tempus."

Gokamé decided that it was time to figure out what his group had just signed up for. "So who is this Dimitria and why is it so urgent that we stop her?"

"She is one of the known embodiments of good in the universe and she has made it her life mission to bring back Zordon of Eltar." Faria replied.

"Bring back Zordon? But he was destroyed."

"Yes but he was destroyed by good, for the sake of all things good. Since he was the true champion of goodness there may be a way to bring him back. We still don't know if it will but do we really want to take that chance?"

"I see. Now what is my payment?"

"Your what? Oh, let's see. How about the Milky Way Galaxy? You can have that and own all who inhabit them."

"Very well, it's a good price to pay."

"It better be," Xygar whispered to Tempus.

"What was that?" Gokamé asked.

"I said when would you like to start?"

"If she's as intelligent as she sounds we will need a plan to stop her. Let us discuss the best way to ensure our victory. If you could provide me with these henchmen, I will be able to form a battle plan." Gokamé provided

"Of course I will have Tempus send the Knuckles down at once." Xygar said as he left the room.

_Knuckles? _Gokamé thought to himself.

At that moment dozens of bronze figures entered the room. They stood roughly at 5'5" tall and were humanoid in appearance. They had black eyes and were built rather solidly. They appeared to be capable of doing quite a bit of damage.

"Ah these must be the Knuckles" Gokamé quipped rather impressed with the foot soldiers of his new partner. He formulated a simple battle plan, to surround and charge.

"Now that I have a plan you can tell your master that we attack at dawn."

-o-O-o-

Dimitria awoke to the pounding that seemed to be coming from all sides of her home. She ran into her sanctuary to see that she was under attack. Thousands of Knuckles ran about, wrecking everything in their path. Soon enough they reached right outside.

She grabbed for her silver bag and began to put the main things she would need into it. Her crystal balls, the book of knowledge, the mystic cards and, of course, the inventions that the people of Inquiris had developed to help her: The Mind Strikers.

Just as she added the strikers to her bag, the doors failed and the Knuckles invaded her sanctuary. From behind them, a dark creature she recognized approached to face her.

"What is an underworld demon like Gokamé doing with petty magic pawns?"

"They came with the job. I'm simply a messenger for Xygar."

"What's the message?"

"This!" He unscathed his demonic blade, releasing a wave of dark energy.

Dimitria twisted, only to vanish in a wisp of smoke. The dark energy continued pass the smoke, demolishing the opposite half of the sanctuary. Rubble flew in the air, landing far from away.

A personal warp device, Gokamé thought, clever Inquirisian. He turned to face the Knuckles, "All of you will stay here and keep Inquiris under the rule of Xygar. I shall return to the ship for the next order."

-o-O-o-

Dimitria's thoughts raced as she teleported across the universe. _Xygar knows that I am trying to bring back Zordon? How long has he known? What will he do to try and stop me? Where can I go where I won't be discovered? How do I stop him from stopping me?_ The questions just kept coming until she remembered the strikers that rested in her bag.

_Of course! I can use the strikers to create my own team of rangers._ Dimitria thought. _With them by my side I can fight off the Agents and save Zordon. Of course with Inquiris under watch I can't go there to recruit them but where?_ It had to be somewhere that the races living there would be intelligent enough to activate the strikers.

The answer seemed to pop into her head before she had finished thinking_. Earth, I already need to go there for the help of those who knew Zordon best and the humans have proven that they can handle the strain of morphing._ Dimitria focused on her destination a place she had not been to since she first heard about the attack on Eltar. She landed in what was left of the power chamber. As she landed she collapsed as the scenes of destruction raced through her mind.

-o-O-o-

"If she won't come to us willingly we will simply force her to come to us. " Xygar ranted furiously, "For now we set our sights on Aquitar. Once we destroy it, Dimitria will have no choice but to surrender."

"But Father what about the Aquitian rangers?"

"The planet will be destroyed before they even realize that they're under attack."

"So we are just going to blow up a perfectly good planet?"

"What better way to demonstrate our power than destroying the home world of one of the most powerful team of rangers in the universe?"

"I see."

"Xygar, we are approaching the planet Aquitar now, what are your orders?" Gokamé asked.

"My orders? Well that's simple, Blow it up and make it quick. The longer we orbit the more time the Aquitians have to run."

"As you wish" Gokamé said as he left the room.

Xygar watched as black wings flapped before the ship's front, the force pushing it back a little. Gokamé put his arms up, "Ragnarok, you have another victim." A small black hole appeared above his hands, dropping a large thin cannon into them. The cannon's tentacles wrapped around Gokamé, fastening itself to him. He aimed the barrel towards the plant's center. "May the end be swift. Apocalypse Blast!"

The cannon charged and fired off a dark beam. As the energy impacted, he watched as the planet was shaken to its core. The bad thing about a planet made up almost entirely of water is that it took relatively little to destroy it. He watch as the water seemed to evaporate almost instantaneously. Xygar took joy in watching what little land there was crumble away into dust. But what he found most enjoyable was the thought that now Dimitria had nowhere to run. There was no longer a ranger team to protect her from him. She couldn't win.

"Wonderful, Wonderful!" Xygar shouted in the space ship, "That was superb! You see Tempus, that's how you get things done."

"Yes father, Gokamé's power level shall be my objective."

While Xygar was caught up in his thoughts, he didn't see the first six waves of light leave the rubble of what remained of the once great planet. He did however notice the four that followed.

_Is it possible that I reawakened them?_ Xygar thought excitedly_. I will have to keep an eye out for them but if I did this is going to be brilliant!_

-o-O-o-

Dimitria woke up terrified of what she had just seen. Aquitar couldn't have been destroyed so helplessly could it? She looked around her surroundings and was once again lost in complete devastation. How could the chamber have been destroyed? What had happened to the rangers she had left behind? Where could she go now? She knew that without Zordons plasma tube she would eventually fade away. True she could move and travel away from it but she needed it to recharge herself especially after the long distance she had just traveled.

Dimitria knew that two of Zordons previous rangers would be able to help her with the present problem. Billy Cranston was the first ranger to be a certified genius but, where was he at? Her heart sunk at the realization that Billy had been living on Aquitar. This left her with one hope a person that she herself had mentored, someone who was a genius in his own right.

-o-O-o-

Justin Stewart got back to his apartment right about five in the afternoon. He led a simple life now. Working would take its toll on him, but looking up to spending the rest of the day with Debby would keep his spirits high. When Justin entered his apartment, Debby was in the living room watching television.

"How was work?" She asked.

Justin set the keys down on the counter, "Fine, fine. Nothing happened." Nothing ever happens. He sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder, "So what's for dinner?"

"You didn't get anything on the way here?" She asked, giving him a disappointed look.

"Sorry, I forgot. Do you want to get something real quick. It's my turn to relax." He joked.

"Okay, it's a deal. But I get to use the car tomorrow to get to school and you go by bus for once."

"No problem, just as long as I don't starve today!" Justin joked as Debby got off the couch.

"I'll be back before you miss me," She blew a kiss goodbye, "See ya!"

As Debby left, Justin looked over to the picture on the stand next to him. The group photo was taken back when he was a kid, him and the other rangers all together at the Youth Center. Those were the days, he thought, I wish they never ended. Justin wished he was there to save Zordon. After the rangers told him the news, he couldn't help but feel there was something he could of done. That was the last time he heard from the others, except for Tommy who stays in contact once in a while.

In an instant, flashes of light surrounded a orb in the middle of the room. It was so sudden it nearly gave Justin a heart attack. In front of him stood someone who he hadn't seen in 11 years.

"Dimitria? Is that you?" Justin asked eyes wide in shock

"Do you really need to question my being myself Justin?"

"No... of course not… it's just… It's been so long." He said stumbling to gather his thoughts.

"How silly of me," Debby said walking back into the apartment, "I forgot to get the keys." She stopped at the sight of the strange woman in the room with Justin. "So this is how it is, huh?" She said putting her hands on her hips, "You wanted me to leave so she can be here, is that it?"

"Debby, I was as surprised to see her as you are."

"Who is she, some floozy that thinks she can steal you from me?"

"Debby, please, she's an old friend. She just came by to visit, that's all." He grabbed Dimitria's arm and pulled her towards the door.

"Where are you two going?"

"We have to catch up on old times. I'll be back by the time you are. Bye!" He closed the door and stopped at the door step.

-o-O-o-

"Can you tell me what this is all about before my girlfriend blows her lid?"

"Do you recall the plasma tube that once stood in the power chamber?"

"Of course I do but why does that… oh!" Justin said as he realized that Dimitria needed that plasma tube to survive. "How long has it been since you were last in a plasma tube?" He questioned.

"Does not time on Earth move slower than that of my home planet?"

"I believe so." He was remembering just how annoying Dimitria's questioning personality could be.

"Then what would be the Earth equivalent to 3 Inquiris hours?"

"You've been out of you tube for about an hour my time. But since you teleported here that doesn't give us more than an hour to find you an energy source before you begin to fade away." Justin replied getting worried.

"Then isn't it urgent we begin now?"

"Yes it is and I have an idea that's out of this world." He responded with a smirk.

-o-O-o-

As they entered the remains of the moon palace it was easy to see why it had been abandoned for so long. By all of its magnificent beauty, it laid in pieces. Since Rita is the one who first trapped Zordon in that time warp she must have had a method to keep him held hostage. As they stepped across the threshold of the palace they felt something they hadn't felt since they had originally entered the power chamber.

From every direction, the walls glowed as the palace reassembled itself around them. The walls resealed and the evil energy seemed to pour out of the room leaving behind a feeling of power and purity. A low voice rumbled from the walls, **"You have reclaimed this place in the name of all things pure. As a reward we will grant you three wishes. Remember: No love, no death, and no new life. Choose with care."**

Justin looked to Dimitria "So I suggest you use one wish for a plasma tube."

"Would I also be able to wish for a base?" Dimitria questioned intrigued.

"Why would you need a base?" Responded Justin slightly confused.

"Would a base not be the best tool for me to fulfill my plans?" She replied as if it were obvious.

"Good point. But what would you use the third wish for?"

"Would it not be best to save that wish for an emergency?"

"Justin, I thank you for your help and would like to know whether I can call upon you again if needed?"

"Of course you can! But for now I need to get back to earth. If I don't, Debby will get worried about me."

Dimitria waved her hand and Justin was teleported back to his Apartment. _Wow_, he thought, _who would have thought that today I would run into an intergalactic being asking for my help?_

-o-O-o-

Authors Note: So that's it for chapter one. In the next chapter you will be introduced to the ranger team. I would like to thank my Beta Reader Chrispumah for his help with the story. Let me know what you think by hitting the review button.


	2. The Formation

Mental Strike

by Eclipticvibe

Disclaimers: See Chapter 1.

Authors Notes: I know the last chapter was a little dry just bear with me I have to establish the characters. Things will definitely be spiced up in the near future. I have gone back to the first chapter and added in descriptions and fixed a few technical issues that got past me. Now to meet the rangers.

Chapter 2: The Formation

Luke's mom stopped the car at the front of Ridgeworth Falls High School. The line traffic stayed close behind them as Luke grabbed his backpack from under the seat.

"You're lucky we made it on time." His mother announced.

"Don't worry about it mom, at least I'm fully rested."

His mother scoffed, "Luke, this is your first day at high school. They aren't going to baby you like they did in middle school. If you keep it up, you could get expelled!"

"Oh, if only!" Luke sighed in delight.

"Just get out of the car already."

Luke got out of the front seat and closed the door behind him. He quickly turned back to lean against the window, "I'll probably get home a bit late today. Just giving you a heads up."

"That's fine honey, have fun at school." His mom waved goodbye as she tuned back into the road.

When they moved in, Luke's family settled into their new house a few days after the school year started. He was glad about it, not having to go through the introduction process every high school does in the beginning of the year. Actions speak louder than words was his motto, and everyone should know who he is when he goes into action.

Hoisting the backpack strap to his shoulder as he walked, Luke checked out the schedule from his pocket. "Let's see. What's my first class?"

As Luke viewed his schedule, a few football players joined some girls sitting on a bench and started a conversation.

"So where do you guys want to hang out today?" Rebecca Lewton asked everyone in her Irish accent.

"Let's go to my house." Cody suggested, "My dad just got a new swimming pool."

"I want to check out that new café in town." Brittney said, "My sister just got a job there so we could get a discount.

"What about you Stephanie ?" Rebecca asked, "You're usually the one to pick a good choice."

She saw Stephanie looking at the tall blond boy in a burgundy shirt looking at his schedule as he walked nearby, "Have you guys seen him before?" She asked, pointing over to him.

"Hey, who's the new kid?" Rebecca teased, "By the looks of him, I think we got a new top player for our team. Don't you?

"He's not better than me!" Cody commented.

"Of course not," Rebecca rolled her eyes, "You are the best at everything and there is nothing you can't do."

"You got that right," Cody grinned.

Rebecca couldn't help but look the new kid over. His wide shoulders and massive arms filled his shirt well. From the side of his gentle face, she could see the edge of Rich green eyes, resembling a polished emerald. His short spiky blond hair nearly matched his tanned skin.

Luke took his focus away from the paper to see Rebecca's light green eyes staring at him. In his mind he could see her passions, playing volleyball and helping out in the school library during the summer time. He blinked, taking his thoughts away from the vision.

He stopped walking once he was close to the bench, "Uhh hi." Luke greeted, "Can you guys tell me where Room 405 is?"

"Very back of the school," Brittney directed, "Right when you get in the school you go to the left hallway and keep going until you reach near the end."

"Thanks." He smiled, "The name's Luke by the way. I'm new in town and-"

"-and nobody cares!" Cody remarked.

Luke's smile didn't budge. He looked away from Brittney to focus on the girl in dark purple pants and a black shirt. Her long auburn hair stopped where her short sleeves started. "What's your name?"

Rebecca was caught off guard, "You can call me Becca." She replied, "My friends usually call me that."

"Well, Becca, I have a feeling that you're good at volleyball. Maybe we can play sometime."

"Yeah," Her freckles moved as her smile formed dimples near her lips, "I'd like that. You'll have to give it your all if you want to stand a chance, though."

"I hope I have to. Wouldn't be fun without a challenge, would it?"

Rebecca shoved her hands on her hips, "I'll be a good challenge, you can bet on that mister."

"How about after school then?"

"You're on!"

"She's busy today with us." Cody intervened, "Now beat it." he jabbed a thumb towards the school. After he did the bell rang, announcing the beginning of class.

"Hey, that was good timing!" Luke said acting surprised, "You must be psychic or something."

Luke left for class. Cody growled as they all headed to their own. Rebecca and him had the same first period, so they walked together, "Man that guy gets on my nerves."

"Easy there Fido," Rebecca joked, "He's just being nice is all. What's so bad about that?"

"Well I don't like it. He thinks he's better than me. I'll show him."

-o-O-o-

Luke stood at the teacher's desk just as the late bell rang. Mr. Teska, the math teacher, sat down as he checked the seating chart.

"Let's see, you can sit in the back next to Karen. I think that's the last empty seat here." He looked up to call her out, "Ms. Peterson?"

Nobody answered. He could see her chair empty, making a puzzled face. "That's odd, she's always here."

Just then a young girl rushed in, catching herself on the open door. She was a petite little girl with long, straight black hair that flowed down to her shoulders. Her brown eyes gave a nice shine of life from the overhead lights. The sleek white windbreaker she wore had an animalistic pattern running around it. She was huffing and seemed to be exhausted to the point of collapsing. "I'm here!" She barely made through her loud intakes.

"Karen, is everything alright?" Mr. Teska asked, concerned.

"Now it is. I had to rush back home to turn off the gas valve."

"My goodness, I'm glad you did. That would have been awful."

"You're telling me. It wasn't easy to get back there on bike either. This city needs the giant hill on the way to my house to be flattened out."

"You can take that to city hall on your own time Ms. Peterson. For now have your seat." Mr. Teska adjusted his glasses and stood up, clearing his throat, "We have a new student today. Hurray." He gave his fist a little shake, showing a half hearty cheer, "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Luke grimaced, "Fine." He looked over at the class and waved, "Hi, I'm Luke. Okay I'm done." He was about to head for his seat before he was halted.

"Whoa now, not so fast. I think we need a bit more than that. Maybe give us a hobby or a pet or something."

"Okay," Luke grinned, "My hobby is what I like to do and my pet is an animal that I own."

The class laughed at his snide remark. Mr. Teska just shook his head and sat back down, "it's okay, you're just shy. I remember when I was a freshman, I didn't talk much either. You can have a seat now."

While Luke made his way to the back of the classroom, the teacher asked the class to pass their previous homework assignment to the front. Luke sat down, setting his backpack next to his feet. From the front, Mr. Teska could see Luke fidgeting in his chair, unable to stay still.

"Is there a problem Luke?"

"It's this chair, it's too comfortable!" At his statement, the class fell into a chorus of laughter.

"Well I hope you get used to it. I'm sure everyone else here is used to the comfortableness after a few days." He got up to write notes about the new text book chapter on the white board.

"I know what you mean Luke," Karen whispered to him, "The seats at the middle school weren't like these." She saw his legs reach past the edge of his desk and to the middle of the desk in front of him, "Plus your height is another factor."

Karen tried to stifle a giggle as Luke looked at her confused, " I mean like another reason for you to be comfortable." When she pulled out her binder, Luke saw colorful tribal designs on its cover.

"Hey, did you draw those?" Luke asked.

"What these?" She looked at the designs herself, "Yeah, I like to draw. I also made this bracelet." She rolled up her jacket sleeve to show him a beaded bracelet, made with a rainbow of colors, "Plus this necklace." Her hand guided his attention to a seashell necklace around her neck.

"So one of your parents is part native then, huh?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, my mom is."

The student in front of Luke held a paper to his back, fluttering it to get his attention. "What's this?" Luke asked, taking the paper, "A note?" He saw math questions with space under them to put the answers, "Oh, homework."

"It's a class assignment, not homework." Karen corrected.

"For me it is homework," He slipped the paper into his backpack next to his unopened binder.

-o-O-o-

During Lunch, Luke sat by himself in the cafeteria. From the table near him, he could see Rebecca talking with all of her friends. The table she was in was filled with football players and the girls she was talking to this morning. As she talked, her eyes drifted over to Luke occasionally. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Cody, who had his back to Luke, turned to glare at him. When Luke focused on Cody, his smile turned into a sly grin.

His next period was P.E. While he didn't like school much, P.E. was the highlight of the day. He eagerly got into his P.E. clothes and dashed out the door. The indoor gym had the usual feel to it with wooden floors, bleachers that lined the sides of the walls numbing out the white coloring. He was first to the freshman bleacher part, waiting for the rest of the class to get there. From the side of his eye he saw the people walking up to the sophomore line. In the small group was Cody, strutting into to show off.

"Great," Luke groaned, "He's here."

The freshmen class piled in as the coach did roll call. After he did he clapped his hands together, "Okay everyone, today we are going to play basketball.

"I want two team captains any volunteers?"

"Me" Luke said standing up and presenting himself in front of the class.

"Okay, Luke since you chose first, you get first pick on teammates the first two are your pick. But I get to make the rest random."

"Let's see…" Luke scouted about the group of students. Up in the back two kids caught his eye. One of them was a smaller African American with a buzz cut and the other was Caucasian with short light brown hair that curled back.

"I pick you two in the back." He pointed with two fingers over the class to single out the two students. They both gave a puzzled look to each other, but got up to get behind Luke.

"Okay, with that done, it's time for me to pick." Cody taunted.

As the coach got the rest of the teams ready, Luke spun around to talk with the other kids. "So what are your guy's names? I need to know to make it easier to call you out."

"I'm Jace." The taller one answered. His ice blue eyes were extremely prominent up close.

"I'm Tyler." The other responded in a quiet voice.

"Are you guys ready to play?"

"Not really." Jace said, "We're not used to being picked first."

"Must look bad when you are on the Student Council. So you two know each other?" Luke asked.

"No, we're just always the last to be on a team. Kind of feels weird to wait on this side of the bleachers."

"It's clever," Ty stated, "Having use on your team leaves the other team's guard down. They see us and expect an easy win. That's why you picked us, isn't it?"

"Actually, I just thought you two could use some exercise." Luke laughed, "But your idea could work too."

Once the coach was finished picking the other students, Luke's team was ready for the game to start. The opposing team approached the court's center, with Cody guiding them.

"Well, well." Cody taunted, "If it isn't Luke."

"What was your name again?" Luke asked, "It wasn't important enough for me to remember."'

"You think you're so high and mighty new kid, but you're not. Why don't we make a bet over this game?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, you can't talk to Rebecca ever again."

"Fine by me," Luke accepted, "But if I win, you have to tell me in front of all your football friends that I'm the best."

Cody winced at the thought. After a few groans he held his hand out, "Fine. I'll accept, but only because I know that I will win."

"Same here." Luke slapped his hand into Cody's to enter a hand shake.

The coach approached with the basketball in one hand and blew the whistle to start the game. Luke and Cody set on their sides of the center, prepared for the throw off. The coach tossed the orange ball in the air, both of the players bending down to jump for it. The two of them launched into the air, Luke's finger tips tapping the ball into his side. He spun before he landed, already with the ball in his sight. One of his teammates was dribbling the ball into the other side of the court, Cody's team on his trail. Luke caught up to him, staying near in case of someone tried to steal the ball. His teammate shot the ball up to the net. It landed on the rim, bouncing out and back into the court. Luke sprinted towards it on its way down, catching it when it bounced. He jumped up and threw it in the net, making it in.

"Freshmen, one point!" The coach announced.

"No wonder this school's football team was awful last season." Luke taunted, "It's like they weren't even trying."

On the next throw off, Cody got the ball first. His team passed the ball left and right, no one on Luke's team was even able to get near the ball. One of Cody's teammates shot the ball from the three point line. The ball swooshed in, a perfect shot. Cody just gave Luke a menacing grin and nothing else.

Luke put two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle, "Alright, team huddle!"

His teammates made a wonky circle around him, "What's this about?" Jace asked.

"They're going to beat us. I need team work here. We can't lose!"

"It's just a game dude," Jace assured, "There's nothing at stake here."

"Come on, I believe in all of you guys. I'm not asking for your all, I'm asking for even a little effort. See those guys over there?" He pointed to the other team, "They think we are just here to let the time go by. They think we can't do anything right. And because of that, they think they are the best. But they're wrong! We are the best. And if we show them that, then we can hit them were it hurts. I'm up for showing those jocks whose boss. Now who's with me?"

"I'm in." Jace said positive, "I'm tired of being picked last. Winning against those guy will show everyone how good I really am."

All of the other team mates agreed expect for Ty.

"What about you Ty," Luke asked, "Are you ready to give those punks a run for their money?"

Ty sighed, "Sure."

"Alright, now let's get in there and win!"

On the next play, things when a lot better for Luke's team. During the throw off, Luke got the ball into his side. Jace grabbed it and ran for the other side. He dodged the opposing players with little effort which surprised Luke. For someone who didn't play he seemed to have the reflexes of a professional. Jace passed it to another teammate, who easily made a basket.

As the class period went by, the points racked up. Both sides kept the score nearly even. The score was 10-10 when the coach announced the last play. Luke walked up to the center drenched in sweat. Cody was tired as well, breathing heavily with his hands on his knees.

"It's a close game," He said holding the ball for the throw off, "whichever team makes this one are the winners!"

"He's talking to me," Cody grinned, a drop of sweat falling from his nose.

"You heard wrong." Luke remarked.

With the last throw off, Cody got the ball. The ball bounced into the hands of one of his teammates. He dribbled it to the other side only to have it intercepted by a girl on Luke's team. The ball hit her shoe as she dribbled, having it roll up to someone from the other team. The sophomore dodged past her, getting all the way to the basket. He shot and missed, the ball ricocheting off the back board and into Luke's hands. Luke sprinted all the way to the other side, dodging and weaving between players.

Victory was his, the game was almost over. From this point, he had a clear shot to make the final score. But as he was in midair to shoot, Cody's hands rammed into his chest. Luke flew to the ground with a grunt, the ball bouncing past him. He got up as quickly as everyone gathered around.

"That was a foul!" Luke shouted.

Cody shook his head, "It was an accident, I was just trying to get the ball."

The coach picked up the ball as it rolled up to his feet, "Okay, let's just keep this fair. Luke, you get a free-throw."

"That's not fair!" Cody protested.

"If I counted it as a real foul, it would be three free-throws." The coach looked back at Luke, "Go ahead Luke. Get on the free-throw line and make a shot." He tossed the ball to Luke.

Luke dribbled the ball, staring daggers at Cody as he walked up to the free-throw line. The other players got up to the sides. He bounced the ball a few times in place to get his hand-eye coordination right, then spun the ball between his hands. Suddenly, he stopped.

"On second thought, is it okay if I have someone else shoot for me?" Luke asked the coach.

"I don't see a problem with it."

Luke walked up to Ty and handed him the ball, "I want you to make the shot."

"No, it's okay. You can get someone else to do it." Ty tried to persuade.

"You're giving the ball to him?" Cody mocked, "It's so you don't look bad when you miss, isn't it?"

Luke didn't pay attention to him. "Come on, it's just like Jujitsu. All you have to do is focus and you'll be just fine. Don't worry, Ty, I believe in you."

"Yeah," Jace said, "You can do it."

Ty took the ball and let out a deep breath, "Okay, I'll try."

The two switched places, Ty getting up to the line. He was visibly nervous, his left hand a bit shaky. As he got into place, he turned back and stared at Luke. In a few seconds, his gaze ceased. Ty separated his feet a bit, set his left hand under the ball, and his right hand on the side closest to him; making a sideways "V".

_That's my free-throw style_, Luke thought.

After twiddling his fingers and blinking a few times, he made the shot. The ball bounced off the backboard near the rim and swooshed in the net. His team cheered and celebrated, the last point making the win.

"Nice shot Ty" Luke shouted over the cheering.

Cody and his friends lugged up to them, the look of disappointment on his face. "Okay, Luke, it's time for me to say it. You're the best."

Luke glanced over at Cody's friends, "I'm sorry Cody, can you say that a little louder?"

Cody groaned, "You are the best."

"I didn't get that last part. I am the what?"

"You are the best!" Cody shouted.

Luke chuckled to himself, "Gets better every time."

"Yeah well, I just have to say it. I still don't have to believe it. It wasn't you that made the last shot and it was a team effort. We still haven't gone one on one. So until then, it's still undecided." Cody and his friends walked away, the rest of the period left for Luke to enjoy.

Luke's last period was band. He wasn't able to do much in there expect play his instrument, the drums. He saw Ty in his class, but on the other side playing the trumpet. When the class was over, he was glad. The school day was finally over.

-o-O-o-

Rebecca was at the volley ball court by herself. She bumped the white ball with her palm to catch it. As the ball fell back to her after a few tries, it levitated in the air an inch above her hand. She used both hands to make it move in the air left and right with touching it. She dropped it to the ground, but stopped it before it hit the asphalt, having it float in midair.

_If only I could have this much control around others._ She thought.

"Having fun?" A voice called out from the other side of the court.

She was spooked, as she lost her concentration the ball fell to the ground. It bounced and rolled over to Luke, who was on the other side of the net.

He picked it up, "I thought you were busy today." He said as he tossed the ball back at her.

Rebecca caught it in one hand. "I was. But I changed my mind. It wasn't fun hanging out with my friends. Cody won't shut up about losing to you at P.E."

Luke laughed, "I hope you can keep yourself quite when I beat you at volleyball."

Rebecca made an evil grin, "Oh, you are so going to lose."

They were about to start when three people approached them. "Jace, Karen, Ty, What are you guys doing here?"

"We just wanted to play." Karen said holding her hands behind her back.

"Ty said that you know something about us." Jace explained, "How it was weird that out of all the people, you centered us out. I have to admit, it did sound a little peculiar when he noticed it."

"Yeah." Rebecca agreed, "How did you know I liked volleyball?"

"And you knew I was only part Native American and not fully." Karen said timidly.

"Plus you knew that I was on the Student council," Jace added, "And when I found out it was your first day here, that took me by surprise."

"Is there something you're not telling us Luke?" Rebecca asked.

"Of course not." Luke defended, "They were just lucky guesses. Is it so wrong for me to be guessing?"

They all just gave him an unconvinced stare.

Luke groaned, "Fine. I give up." He dropped his wide shoulders in submission. "But you guys are going to laugh when I tell you. I have psychic powers."

"**You have powers too?**" The others all said in unison, then looked and pointed amongst each other, "You too?"

"Whoa, okay let's take it down a notch people." Karen said as she tried to get everything under control, "What I'm getting is that all five of us are psychics?"

"I can read auras." Luke admitted, "I can see the passions people have through color. You guys were bright and full of energy. I guess that made you stick out from the crowd. So what can you guys do?"

"I have precognition." Jace answered, "I can see when something is going to happen."

"I am Psychometric I can see the history of an object." Karen said, "It makes reading way more fun."

"I can read minds." Ty said simply.

"What about you Becca?" Luke asked, "What can you do?"

She held out the ball with her hand and made it float up. "A little something called telekinesis. But only with light things. Even holding this ball an inch from my hand is pushing me to the limit."

"So you two were about to start a game, right?" Karen asked, "Mind if we join you?"

"I'm fine with that. Are you?" Luke asked Becca.

"No problem at all. Let's make it guys against girls. Come over on my side Karen."

"Hey, there are three guys. It wouldn't be fair." Luke protested.

"It's okay," Ty said, "I don't have to play."

"That's fine. You can be the referee if you want." Luke suggested.

"I'd like that." He got to the side as the rest of them started to play.

-o-O-o-

It's been three years since that day. The five have become a tight nit group ever since. Their new school year was about to start, but summer wasn't over yet. They planned a camping trip for their vacation, but it would always get delayed. It was the last week of free time and they agreed to make it happen.

Luke drove the jeep full of his friends casually through the beginning of Cedar Forest thirty miles north of town. Thirty miles might not seem like a long ways out but when it is on a winding road it definitely isn't the most pleasurable experiences. Ty, in the passenger seat, looked out at the trees and plants gathered around the edge of the dirt road. Karen and Rebecca were talking about girl stuff like things they want to buy and how they put on makeup, with Jace painfully stuck in between them.

"So what do you guys want to do first after we set camp?" Luke asked the group.

"I want to hike a bit," Karen said breaking her small talk with Rebecca, "We can get a good view of the town if we go a few miles up this one way leading up to a giant cliff."

"You can count me out of that!" Rebecca declined, "I get woozy just thinking about heights! I'm fine with the hiking part, but I'm not getting anywhere near the cliff."

"I think a hike would be a great idea." Jace agreed.

Luke peeked over at Ty, seeing him just staring off into the distance out the window. "What about you Ty? What do you want to do?"

"I'm fine with anything." He answered plainly.

Luke forced on his face a grin, "Hiking it is then."

-o-O-o-

Dimitria made her way through her new base. The moon palace was happy to oblige in turning itself into what Dimitria needed. The palace was in the shape of a triangle with 3 impressive towers of different heights. The walls were made of marble and seemed to glow with energy. It was everything she wanted and more. It had her own private chamber, rooms for her future rangers that they could utilize whenever they wished, a dungeon for practicing and training, and a kitchen that kept itself fully stocked and created whatever your mind could imagine.

Perhaps the most important part of the base was the inner sanctuary. It was a rather large room located against the northern wall with the plasma tube she had wished for. Once Dimitria had arrived she hurried to unpack her things. She had no idea how long it would be until the Agents of Force arrived to start trouble.

Her crystal ball went into the corner of the room where it would float in midair. It was 3 feet in circumference and depicted flashes of the city. In the other corner sat the Book of Knowledge now resting peacefully on its stand, containing all the keys to bringing back Zordon. Her cards had taken up residence on a table in the middle of the room where they hovered, shuffling amongst themselves.

_This palace is the perfect combination of magic and technology now all that's left is finding the other occupants_

She reached into her bag and pulled out the five stones she had brought with her. In her palm sat the glittering gemstones: a red ruby, a blue sapphire, a green emerald, a purple amethyst, and a moonstone

_These five stones will determine whether or not I will succeed._ Dimitria thought as she tossed them into the air. "Can you bring me the five who can best defend this land?"

The gems seemed to nod as they flashed in bright colors and vanished to find there new owners.

At a far window in the marble room, a purple moth was comfortably fluttering its wings watching.

-o-O-o-

"I have discovered where Dimitria has fled to," Faria declared with joy. She sat leaning against the throne, the mirror in her hand reflected Dimitria in her base, "it is known as the planet Earth."

"Earth?" Xygar set a hand under his chin as he readjusted himself in his throne, "What is that, some sort of gas planet?"

"No, it's where Zordon kept Rita Repulsa and Zed in check until they had no choice but to give up."

"Nice work honey. Tempus come here my boy I have a job for you."

His son entered the command chamber holding one of his experimental vials, "You called father?"

"Tempus we've found that blasted witch in a place called Berth."

"Earth." Faira corrected.

"That's what I said, Earth! It's much too far for the ship to travel, be a sport and create a monster to stop them. They can survive the wormhole transport; err, most of the time.

"Yes father."

"At a boy, make me proud son!" During Tempus's trip back to his quarters, Xygar settled back into his throne planning out his new empire.

-o-O-o-

The teens had just started making their tents, the sun still high up in the sky. The small clearing they chose was surrounded on all sides by large trees and various foliage except for the trail of the dirt road they took to get there. While they pitched their tents, Jace grasped his forehead. Small bursts of pain released through his head as the others gathered around him in a panic.

"Jace what's wrong?" Luke asked concerned.

"I'm-I'm okay," He answered calmly, "Just a slight headache. I get them sometimes, it's fine."

The group was about to feel relieved when out of the forest, a large group of creatures surrounded them. Dozens of bronze-like humanoids covered in rocky exteriors were all around the five teens, they held aggressive stance and their seemed to be molded into various weapons mainly knives, maces, clubs.

"Rock Monsters!" Luke exclaimed,

Rebecca smirked as the creatures surrounded them, "I wonder what they want" she said eagerly secretly hoping for a fight

"I don't know about you but I'm not going to wait around to find out."

Luke shouted as he charged into one of the approaching creatures and attempted to karate chop it square in the head. His hand landed with a painful crack, his hand ricocheting off of the rocky armor of the creature.

"That looks like it hurt," Rebecca said, "Why don't you try something a little less stupid?" She almost didn't notice the rock monster swiping its bladed fist at her. She dodged with a side step to the left.

"How about this?" Luke kicked it between its legs but only managed to hurt his foot. Rubbing his shoe and hopping on his other foot, Luke turned back at the others, "Yeah, they're invulnerable."

A creature charged up to Ty, his martial arts training kicked into action. He used the momentum of the creature to flip it overhead by grabbing its outstretched arms and leaning backwards. His right leg was used as a pedestal, keeping the creature in the air until it flew over him.

"Alright Ty!" Luke cheered, "He's got the idea, stay on the defensive."

Karen was stuck in a struggle with one of the creatures, eventually being thrown in the air to Jace's position. Luke tried to grab a creatures arm and drop it to the ground, but another one got him from behind and threw him to Jace as well. Karen and Ty tried to keep the one that Ty knocked to the ground down, but its immense strength allowed it to throw them in the air with one hand each.

"Jace why aren't you helping us!" Luke called to his friend who was watching the scene unfold.

"It's no use," Jace said, his headache finally dissipating, "We can't stop them."

Luke processed what Jace had said_. If he says we can't stop them then we are in trouble_ he thought. "Then that leaves only one thing to do." Luke declared, "Run away!"

The teens all weaved and twisted around the rock monsters, the creatures unable to move fast enough to keep up with them. They ended up running out into the east side of the clearing. Luke was left behind a bit, having bumped into a creature in his frantic sprint. He fell backwards, but crawled under the monster's legs and scurried away.

The leaves crackled loudly under the pounding of the teenagers' feet. They could see the creatures trying to pursuit them but their rocky bodies were too bulky to have them match the speed of the teens. Only Jace was having a problem with running, but he kept up with his friends.

"We should have ran to the car!" Rebecca shouted at Luke.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Luke agreed sarcastically, "Let's cram ourselves in a tight place where we can't escape and have them surround us by the time the car can start. Great idea."

"Well at least it's better than running blindly into the woods!" She shot back.

"You two can fight some other time!" Karen said over them, "We need to find a place to hide!"

Luke stopped, halting his friends. "I know we can go up one of these trees."

Jace caught up with them, "Why did you guys stop?"

Suddenly, from within the thick of the trees, a bright and flashing circle appeared in the air. Five beams of light shot out of it, streaming straight towards the teens. The lights flew straight through them. The group felt themselves dissolve into a mist as they were pulled through the flashing portal.

The teens reappeared in a foreign place. What was once trees and sky was now replaced by large marble walls and a large plasma tube in front of them.

"I trust your journey here was safe?" The teens all saw a strange lady in a flowing white gown with a smoky veil over her face. She walked up to them and laced her fingers together.

"Who are you?" Karen asked.

"Is it safe to say Earth's last hope?"

To be continued…

-o-O-o-

Authors Note: So that is chapter 2 I have now introduced the main characters so as long as you have followed along so far we are good. In the next chapter the teens will receive their ranger powers and discover the mystery that is starting to surround their lives. I will try to update the story sooner chapter 3 is in the editing phase as I type this and chapter 4 as been started. Please leave me a review on your way out.


	3. Into Battle

Mental Strike

by Eclipticvibe

Disclaimers: See Chapter 1.

Authors Notes: Hopefully my last chapter didn't scare you off. I apologize for the long gap between this story and the last school and work have been killing me but I just finished my finals so here is to summer. The updates should be more frequent now that I have some time. Now that the characters have been introduced I can start moving the story forward I am glad to see that at least few people enjoy my idea. Now without further ado, here is chapter 3.

**Chapter 3: Into Battle**

"I must not have heard you right, did you just say the fate of the world?" Rebecca asked, speaking for the first time since the five of them had been brought to this palace.

"Does it surprise you to know that the decisions of just one person can have such a large impact?" Dimitria questioned Rebecca.

"Of course not, lots of people have that sort of power." She responded.

"Do you not have your own power?" Dimitria once again questioned.

Rebecca was getting irritated being asked question after question but getting no answers.

"Are you going to answer any of our questions or not?" Rebecca answered her voice harsh with irritation.

"Do people not learn best when forced to think for themselves?" Dimitria answered amused at Rebecca's obvious irritation.

"What are you, an officer of the law or something?" A female voice asked from the ceiling. The teens looked up to see a silvery rocklike creature with clawed hands and feet dug into the stone roof. Its eagle-like wings fluttered as it landed between them and Dimitria. The gargoyle was only a few feet tall, but its weight still cracked the floor beneath it.

Now that it was closer, they could see its face was warped and curvy like an African tiki statue. The mouth was a fanged smile that curved inwards towards the middle. Its eyes were just two simple ovals that were etched into the face yet they seemed to sparkle.

"You might as well give them a ticket already and tell them to have a nice day!" Its voice was gentle and melodic.

The teens didn't respond. They just looked at the gargoyle surprised.

"What?" It asked eyes widening, "Yeah, yeah I'm a gargoyle. Big deal! If you're going to act this way after being attacked and being sucked into a vortex and brought to the moon, you have a lot of nerve."

"I guess so, but it is just so hard to take this all in at once." Jace said reaching for his head as the intensity started to build up once more.

The gargoyle tilted its head up, listening to something. There was no noise that the teens could her, making them even more confused.

"So yeah, Dimitria over there wants me to introduce us and give you the works. She's from the planet Inqurius, which is now a giant wreck after some intergalactic buffoons went psycho on it. She's just trying to bring back the wizard Zordon. Of course I have always preferred calling him the wizard of the tubes. I don't think it can happen with the Agents of Force running around."

"Who are the Agents of Force? And who are you?" Luke asked.

The gargoyle got up close and hung its arm over his shoulder, "Are you an idiot young man? Have you been living under a rock or something? Whoa, that's coming from me, so you have got to be missing out." She stepped away, getting close to the other teens, "The Agents of Force are just a bunch of intergalactic war beings that are trying to act cool by taking over everything. Oh no, our planet was destroyed. Boo-hoo! Cry me a river and swim out of here. As for me, I'll need a drum roll please."

She pointed at Dimitria for her to do the drum roll, but she didn't budge. Quickly looking back to the teens, she slapped her knees to make the sound and spread her arms out the end.

"Syra!" She imitated a crowd cheering by making a hollow exhale. Two party blowers appeared behind her and blew a faint honk.

"Are you going to do this every time you come in?" Dimitria questioned.

"I guess I should get to the point." She put on a patriotic top hat and a white beard, and then pointed at the teens, "We want you to become power rangers."

"Us?" Rebecca asked looking amongst the group, "What can we do against something that has an entire galaxy paralyzed with fear?"

"That's where these bad boys come in." Syra said holding out her hand with five colored gems between her claws. The ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, and moonstone gleamed brilliantly from the light. "These are the stones that teleported you over here. The stones activate the Mental Strikers. The strikers themselves will allow you to tap into the universal energy known as the morphing grid. The morphing grid will let you become power rangers. And if you can do the math in your head, power rangers plus super evil dudes equals last chance." She pretended to cry, "I don't want to be a slave! Those small rooms and chains, I'm claustrophobic as it is!

"So let me get this straight" Luke started. "You came here to save the world from destruction by this group of villains and you want us to become power rangers to do it?" He said not knowing whether to look at Dimitria or Syra.

"You mean you'll help us?" Syra asked getting on her knees and cupping her claws under her chin, "Please say yes, please!"

"But why us?" Jace questioned, genuinely intrigued.

Syra paused a little bit before answering, "Dimitria said the stones only work on a select few humans. I'm guessing you guys fit that category."

"Well I for one think that if the world needs our help we should offer it!" Karen said rather boldly. As everyone looked at her surprised by her enthusiasm she took a step back a little.

"May I have an answer?" Dimitria asked hoping that they would say yes.

The group looked around at each other. Their emotions created a mixture of excitement, fear, joy, pride, and nervousness. They knew being the defender of an entire planet was a heavy responsibility. One wrong move and it could mean huge consequences on their part. It was a role anyone should agree to, but no one wanted to have.

"You can count me in!" Ty said cementing himself into what he was sure to be the craziest thing he had ever done.

"I am in too." Karen said.

Luke and Rebecca answered at the exact same time with a resounding, "yes!"

This left Jace the only member left to decide. As he opened his mouth to make his decision public, his head seemed to crack from the pressure that was building up. He looked around seeing the faces of his friends swirling as he fell to the ground.

-o-O-o-

"Jace!" Luke screamed as the panic rushed through his system as he ran for his friend. He had seen Jace in pain before but he had never seen him pass out. As he reached his fallen comrade, Jace's body began to shake violently as if he was suffering from a seizure. By now the rest of the group was huddled around Jace's body after Luke helped him sit up.

"Ty get into his head to see what he is seeing." Luke ordered.

Ty focused onto Jace's mind and was met with the most excruciating pain he had ever been subjected to. His mind and body relapsed in the screeching cracks that seemed to be the results of the psychic feedback.

"What did you hear, Ty?" Karen asked, shivering with fear. She had seen everyone struggle before but she had never seen any of them in physical pain.

"I couldn't get a read on him. There is some kind of interference." Ty responded in pain and confused. He had no idea why he couldn't get through Jaces mind.

Rebecca looked up to Dimitria and shouted angrily in a fit of desperation, "Can't you help him? You brought him here, do something!" Her voice cracked at the end of her plea as Jace's shaking intensified.

"What is his psychic ability?" Dimitria asked calmly.

Dimitria's calm persona seemed to spread throughout the room they were all still worried and confused, but now thinking logically again.

"It's precognition." Luke provided.

"So you have an idea what happening to him?" Karen asked after finally reeling in her emotions.

"Is it possible that his ability was triggered by his decision?" Dimitria asked.

"I think that is exactly what happened." Ty said as he settled back into his regular temperament.

By this time Jace's body had stopped shaking and now just lay limp in Luke's arms. The tension around them dissipated. Everyone let out a mental sigh of relief.

"He is about to wake up." Ty said with a breath of fresh air as Jace's thoughts, though not yet coherent, started to make their way into Ty's mind.

-o-O-o-

Jace started to stir from his position and after a few moments he opened his eyes. The sight he saw was one of the most beautiful he could have imagined. He saw Luke's face above him as he realized that he was no longer on the ground. He saw Rebecca crouched by his side squeezing his hand. He saw Karen smiling, her eyes still wet with tears and he saw Ty staring back at him eyes widening in shock.

"What did you see?" Rebecca asked.

Jace sat up and decided with relative ease that he was not going to tell them the truth about what he saw.

He made eye contact with Ty and thought as loudly as he could_, I will explain things to you later. Don't tell them I'm lying. _

Ty flinched as he felt the force of thoughts being directed straight to him. He knew if Jace was going to lie to the group this must be big. _Okay_, Ty thought back.

Jace breathed in relief as he got Ty's answer and he looked up at Becca, Luke, and Karen "I don't remember exactly. It all happened so quickly."

"I was so worried for you!" Karen shouted, wrapping him in a vise-like hug. "You scared the living day lights out of me! Are you okay?"

Jace's arms were trapped under hers. "I can't breathe!" He choked out, her intense grip constricting him.

"Oh!" Karen squealed, letting go quickly. She let out a nervous chuckle and stood back up.

"While I realize that this may not be the best of circumstance, Jace, have you made your decision?" Dimitria asked her voice laced with concern.

" I'm in." Jace said trying to mask the doubt in his voice.

"Very well, can you all stand before me?" Dimitria questioned, though it seemed more like a command.

They assembled themselves in a straight line with Luke in the middle, Jace to his right and Rebecca to his left. Karen stood next to Jace and Ty stood next to Rebecca. As they settled into the line, 5 chains of different metals floated from their resting place in front of Dimitria to the teens. The chains wound themselves around the wrists of the group.

"Will you please place your stone in the opening on your chain?" Dimitria asked.

Luke placed his ruby into his golden chain, Jace as laid his sapphire into his silver chain, Rebecca clicked her Amethyst into place on the bronze chain, Ty inserted his emerald into his titanium chain, and Karen locked her moonstone into her platinum chain.

Once the stones were fit into the centers of the chains, light flashed around the group and another chain identical to the first minus the stone appeared on their other wrist.

"How do they work though?" Luke asked.

"It's easy!" Syra declared as a rock and a bicycle chain appearing in her claws, "You just smash them together like this!" She smashed the two objects together and a small explosion went off were she was standing. Once the smoke cleared, she was covered with black soot and sizzling, "Everything except the explosion part!" She said holding a claw up as she coughed out a puff of smoke.

"So we rub them together?" Rebecca asked.

"Didn't I just say that? Seriously do you people even listen to a word I say? Although if you ask me, I think a caveman designed these things!" She glided across the ceiling as she continued to speak "Just remember to say your color, your animal, and then: mental strike. I didn't, and the whole thing just blew up in my face, literally!"

"So then what animal do we call out?" Luke questioned.

Syra now sat at a table with one candle and was dressed like a gypsy with tarot cards in her claws, "The Mental strikers are associated with intelligence each of you have an animal that is known for its intellect,"

"Luke is the leopard." She set a card showing a leopard growling, "Ferocious and made for the hunt. Never backing down and never giving up."

"Tyler is the elephant." She placed a card with a grey elephant eating from a tree with it's trunk, "Smart and powerful, yet gentle in nature."

"Karen is the horse." She placed a card showing a horse galloping in a meadow, "Magnetic and beautiful, a horse is only hindered by its cautious nature.

"Jace is a raven." She placed a card with a raven nestled on a post, "One of the most brightest of birds, it knows to stay away from every other creature but stays close to family.

"Rebecca is the iguana." She set a card with an iguana resting on a rock, "Aggressive in appearance, but humble in spirit."

"Aww yeah!" Luke shouted, "I'm a leopard. Those things are awesome!" He pointed at Rebecca and made a mocking laugh, "ha ha, you are an iguana!"

"So, it's better than being some dumb old cat that just lies around all day. They're lazy, just like you!" She shot back.

"Yeah but leopards eat iguanas."

"No they don't!"

"Yeah they do! I say my cat eat a lizard once."

"That's entirely different!"

"No it's not!"

"Yeah it is!"

"Do they usually argue like this?" Dimitria asked the others as the two disputed.

"Only when they are getting along." Karen answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well I can beat you at thumb war!" Rebecca continued.

"Oh yeah?" Luke shot back, holding her thumb out. "Prove it."

The two entered a thumb war counting down from three. Before they could start, Syra pushed them aside with her wings.

"That's not a thumb war," She stated, "this is a thumb war!" In front of them two small trenches covered in barbed wire appeared. A line of individual thumbs with helmets on held pinkies using stick figure arms. One side had wide brimmed olive helmets while the other side had grey helmets with a point on the top and black mustaches under the nail. The olive helmet side waddled out of their trench and smoke shot out of the opposing side's pinky "rifles". They started to fall down, making Syra drop to her knees and wail in agony.

"No!" She cried, "They were so young! Take me instead!"

"As fascinating as that was why don't we try morphing now?" Jace suggested.

"Sure, Okay, Yeah, Sounds like fun!" the answers came almost instantaneously from his friends.

They all lifted there right wrists to their chests and overlapped the stone with the chain on their other wrist.

"Ready?" Luke asked shakily.'

The other teens nodded.

"White Horse Mental Strike"

"Green Elephant Mental Strike"

"Purple Iguana Mental Strike"

"Blue Raven Mental Strike"

"Red Leopard Mental Strike"

Calling out the morphing commands, they were shrouded in a cloak of black energy. Their colors made their way through the field and swirled around their bodies. The animals that they called seemed to swoop in and leave them feeling invigorated. They felt their bodies cover with fabric. Their faces were the last to get covered with a metallic clank at the end. The shroud vanished faster than it appeared and it left the teenagers encased in their ranger suits.

The newly morphed rangers stood there and felt the power surge through their bodies.

"This is incredible" Luke said grasping the air as he lifted his hands.

"I feel so energetic" Rebecca responded.

"It's like nothing I've ever felt before" Jace nodded

"Wow!" Karen replied, staring at her gloves.

"Tell me about it.." Ty stated.

As they looked around at each other they got to see how they actually looked. The suits were black with spiral swirls of colors coming up from the legs and in through the arms to the chest. The chest had a tribal design of the head of their mental animal. The helmets they wore were simple and black with midnight blue shaded visors. At the forehead mark on the helmets the gemstones of each of the rangers were displayed. The boots came up six inches past the ankles and seemed to flare out. While the gloves stopped a few inches past the wrists. The girls had black skirts attached to their suits with 2 spirals on the sides all of the suits had midnight blue belts with silver buckle on them. As they took in the view of how they looked, a low chime started to echo throughout the chamber.

"What is that noise?" Karen asked looking around the chamber.

"Okay, who set off the alarms?" Syra asked, fisting her hips. "Was it you?" She shouted at Dimitria, "You have a guilty face…I think?" She was unsure from the white veil over Dimitria's face. "Oh wait, now I remember! That ringing means something is amidst!"

"Our city is under attack?" Ty asked making sure he knew exactly what was happening.

"Would it help you to looked into the crystal ball and see?" Dimitria responded.

The rangers turned to face the crystal ball which showed scenes of chaos and destruction. Central park was being attacked by at least thirty of the strange creatures that had ambushed them at the forest. People ran away, the creatures not far behind. Some explosions were visible in the background, sending dread down the teenagers' guts.

"What are those things? They attacked us before. Where did they come from?" Rebecca's onslaught of questions was greeted by Syra blowing a whistle.

"Okay, time out." Syra said holding her claws in a "T" shape, "One word at a time here. Jeez, any more questions and you'll hear from my lawyer!" She made a chart appear with doodles of the creatures on one side and the rangers on the other, "So the things attacking the city are called knuckles and the enemy has lots of them at their disposal. I'm talking thousands, like ants status. Step on one and you got a billion of them running up your leg."

She stomped her foot down and a little high pitched voiced called out, "Help me!"

"Also, before it slips my mind, each of you need to grab one of the rings that are on the table and need to wear it at all times. It will be how Dimitria communicates with you and they will allow you to teleport between here and home." She flew next to the rangers and held a claw to her mouth, "Just keep the communicator at a low volume though since, between you and me, Dimitria here is a chatter box."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Dimitria asked.

Syra flew back and screeched to a sudden halt, "And another thing! There are three rules you must follow." She held one part of her claw up, "Rule number 1: You cannot use your ranger powers for personal gain. No robbing banks or jacking cars or selling goats on the internet, nothing like that!"

She held the second part of her claw up, "Rule number 2: You cannot escalate a fight unless you are forced into it. Don't try going around attacking people just because you can, no matter how fun it sounds!"

She used her other claw to make a third point, "Rule number three: You must keep you identities as rangers a secret. If you start going around saying 'I'm a power ranger!' everything will enter complete and utter chaos. How do you think the middle age's started? And if you break any of the rules, you are going on time out; powerless style." She appeared at a desk with her claws together with a clipboard, "Comprende?"

As Syra finished, each of the rangers shook their head in understanding. In one fluid movement the rangers vanished in 5 bursts of light. The fate of the world was now in their hands.

To Be Continued…

Authors Notes- I hope that you are all enjoying my story so far. In the next chapter the rangers will finally have their first fight. I appreciate all of you hanging in here as the story progresses. It just wouldn't be a good story if everything was rushed so there will be moments when things will need to be explained. Hopefully things will start to pick up now that the majority of the foundation has been laid down. Chapter 4 is my favorite yet and already in the hands of my Beta and chapter 5 is halfway done now. Please leave a review on your way out!


	4. First to Fall

Mental Strike

By Eclipticvibe

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Author Notes: First off I would like to apologize for the time that has gone by sense I last updated it will never be that long again. Anyways her it is the long awaited first battle and the return of an original ranger at least for now. I Hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter 4: First to Fall

Ridgefall Park was in chaos by the time the rangers had teleported there. The knuckles were doing a superb job at terrorizing the city. Picnic tables were smashed to pieces and strewn throughout the park. The swings had been uprooted and tossed aside. The people who were once enjoying a carefree day in the park were now running for their lives from the alien creatures.

"We're going to need to split up guys," Luke commanded, "We need to protect the people and stop the knuckles."

"I'm on the people!" Karen said waving her arm in the air.

"So am I." Jace added.

The two nodded to each other and hurried off to make a barrier between the citizens and the Knuckles.

Rebecca crossed her arms, "I guess that leaves us to beat up the baddies."

Luke and Rebecca jumped into action, with Ty following close by.

At the park's entrance, people flooded out into the streets. The final stragglers made their way out as the knuckles crept up from behind. The rangers turned just in time to rejoin the others.

Luke, Becca, and Tyler were locked in battle. Dozens of the creatures surrounded them on all sides, dodging and weaving to find an opening. The three looked at each other, their hands up in fists.

"Ready?" Becca asked her friends.

"Ready!" The green and purple rangers answered.

"Good, let's win this!" Becca charged towards two Knuckles about to strike.

She leaped and split his legs to kick both of them in the head. A rocky crunch sounded from the both of them. One swung its stone bladed hand downwards, but she quickly dodged as Luke intercepted the blade with his palms. He flung the blade to the side and punched the Knuckle while it spun helplessly. It flew through the air to be caught in Rebecca's spin kick.

Luke noticed it had been a while since he saw Ty. He searched for his friend, but couldn't find him in the gathering of Knuckles. From inside the huge group, the green ranger flew out, crashing before his two friends.

"Ty!" Luke cried, helping him up. "Are you all right?"

Ty gripped his chest with a small groan, "I'm fine."

"It's okay, you don't have to hold back with these things." Luke assured.

"Yeah," Becca added, "Just think of them as moving bricks."

Ty glanced at both of them and nodded. "Affirmative."

The green ranger sprinted into the crowd of Knuckles and started knocking them down one by one. A Knuckle attempted to tackle him, but Ty flipped him over his head, the Knuckle plummeting back to earth with a stony crack. The Knuckle ranks were already thinning out with ones still able to move, Luke and Rebecca joined in to finish them off.

-o-O-o-

"RANGERS! Why is it that no one informed me that the miserable planet Earth still had rangers?!" Xygar ranted on his throne.

Faria got behind Xygar and rubbed his spiky shoulders, "It's okay honey."

Xygar shrugged her hands off, grunting in anger. Faria regained her hold, massaging his rocky collar. Xygar calmed down and chuckled, patting Faria's slender hand. Faria wrapped her arms around his thick neck, humming happily.

"They are nothing Xygar. Just speed bumps."

Xygar nodded, "Hmm yes, or asteroids." He looked at her, his eyes now dim and calm. She kept the same look with her slanted eyes, the scales around them sparkling with life.

Tempus cleared his throat, "Father if I may, I have been working on my ability connect to the other realm. Maybe I can create a creature to stop the rangers."

"Tempus, my child ,you truly are a spectacular young one aren't you. Yes, create a creature so powerful that it will obliterate those pathetic rangers!" Xygar laughed with a crunchy wheezing cackle.

"Yes father." He responded, retreating from the room. Faria joined in the maniacal laughter as Tempus left the room, the doors muffling the racket.

"I am 115 years old. I am most definitely not a child anymore," Tempus grumbled to himself as he stormed to his chamber to create a monster. Tempus set up a circle of candles in the middle of the room and placed a giant mirror in the center lying on the floor. He closed his eyes, the glowing orbs disappearing from beneath his robe's cowl.

"**From the depths in which all evil flows**

**Hear my plea this is how it goes**

**Forces of water inner twine**

**Infuse life to a creature divine**

**I summon forth the master of eight**

**The bringer of storm and lightning hate**

**Metal shape the body round**

**Bring my monster to the ground"**

Once his chant ended, the flames on the tips of the candles grew to illuminate the entire chamber. The flames started to dance as they joined in the middle of the mirror. The giant circle of flames touched the mirror's edge. The flames phased seamlessly through one side as a creature phased through.

"I command you, my creature, to attack Earth and destroy the power rangers. I want you to take a particular interest in the blue one as well." Tempus ordered. It responded with a bow, then teleported off to find its destination.

-o-O-o-

Jace and Karen had finished getting the crowd away from the danger area and proceeded to rejoin the others. Karen jumped right into the battle and landed on her hands and knees. One of the few remaining Knuckles sprinted towards her with a fist in the air. She shot both of her legs into its rocky face with a mule kick, the force blasting it to the ground.

Suddenly Jace grabbed Karen from her spot, taking her to the ground a few feet away.

"Jace why did you tackle her?" Rebecca shouted.

In a flash of lightning, park benches and trash flew in all directions. The rangers held their arms in defense against the airborne debris. In a cloud of smoke, a hideous creature appeared where Karen was a split second ago. It resembled an octopus with two tentacles for arms and two for legs. The other four hung at its waist, covering all four sides of its purple body. A metallic coat encased its torso and upper limbs with a metal collar protecting the under half of its head.

"That's why" Jace yelled back.

The creature released a grinding metallic laughter, "Foolish rangers! I am Octoshock, the terror of seas!"

"How much of a terror could a squid toaster be?" Becca mocked.

"Why don't you find out pretty?" The creature responded, casting bolts of electricity at her.

Becca fell hard as she was blasted into the air by the creature's shockwave. Sparks escaped the front of her suit, the morphing grid malfunctioning from the damage dealt. She groaned on the ground, black soot covering her chest.

Luke swiped his fist through the air, "That's the last thing you'll ever do!" He sprinted at the creature, but was stopped by Jace getting in front of him. Jace's feet slid in the grass a few feet before Luke's momentum halted.

"Luke don't fight him with anger!" Jace tried to warn.

"Let go of me!" Luke shouted as he slammed Jace into the ground. It was too late by the time Luke realized what he'd done. "Jace, I'm sor…" Luke started but he was quickly cut off by his friend in blue.

"Don't mention it." Jace said getting up, "We just can't afford to go into these fights with our heads off."

"So you're the smart one. No wonder Xygar wants you out first." Octoshock spoke as he lashed out all four tentacles at the blue ranger.

"I think not," Tyler barely whispered from behind the creature as he kicked it in its side.

Karen side flipped into the tentacles' paths, kicking them aside. She jumped with a foot aimed at Octoshock's chest. The monster counted with its arm tentacles and wrapped them around her leg in midair. She was tossed aside to the top of an old oak tree.

By the time Karen was in the tree and Becca stood back up, Luke and Ty attacked Octoshock on both sides. Its tentacles blocked each kick and punch they could unleash, ending their short onslaught with a lightning bolt to the both of them. Jace was far back from the fight, keeping his distance. Once Luke and Ty dropped, a free tentacle stretched out to grab Jace.

The tentacle shot through the air across the small fighting area, heading straight for him. From the side Rebecca lunged onto it, knocking it down into the grass. She kicked off at the landing, plowing the end of the tentacle into the ground. Just when they thought the upper hand was theirs, Octoshock spun in place. Its tentacles slapped Luke and Ty into the air with Luke landing onto Becca and Ty landing on top of Becca.

In the moon palace, Syra was running around with her claws flailing in the air. "Oh no! They're all doomed! They can't beat that thing without their weapons!" What are we going to do?"

Dimitria stood stiff as Syra shouted incoherent gibberish, "Why don't you tell them of the weapons then?"

Syra stopped her rambling, "Wait, I've got an idea! I'll tell them about their weapons!"

As the rangers stood Syra's voice rang through the rangers' heads. "Quick! Say the command that is appearing in your head and hold out your hands and concentrate!"

"Wh-"

Luke was about to talk but was quickly cut off, "Don't question it, just do it!"

Following the directions provided, the rangers raised their hands and focused their minds. Light engulfed their arm, their weapon forming in their fist.

"Psy Lance, Power Up!" Luke lifted a ruby bladed lance. The shaft of the lance was a bright gold with Leopard spots of ruby covering it.

"Intelli Axe, Power Up!" Becca's one hand axe's amethyst blade curved inward. The bronze handle was ridged like reptile scales.

"Cogno Staff, Power Up!" Jace's spun the Silver staff, sapphire feathers detailed in a spiral pattern ran down the staff.

"Cranial Mace, Power Up!" Tyler swung the emerald spiked morning star, holding it high behind him by the titanium handle. The spikes were shaped like small tusks.

"Tele Claws, Power Up!" Karen whipped out both hands to revel the moonstone claws. The platinum chains covering her palms jingled when she crossed her arms.

"You think those toys are going to stop me?" Octoshock challenged.

"They're not just going to stop you, " Luke said spinning his lance to hold it behind him, "They're going to destroy you."

The red ranger charged the creature with his Psy Lance, striking fast and hard. As he attacked with the blade, the other end repelled any attempts Octoshock made. The purple ranger joined in, swiping though the ricocheting ligaments with her Intelli Axe. Two of the creature's tentacles fell to the ground, smoke filling the sliced ends. Octoshock shouted in a metallic screech.

With Octoshock struggling to stand, the green ranger bludgeoned it's chest with his Cranial Mace, denting through the metal armor. With a few more strikes the armor was bashed inward to the point Octoshock's body was vulnerable to damage. From the sky, Karen flew in with her Tele Claws out before her. In a flash of light she sliced through him clear through, landing on her knees on the other side of it.

The blue ranger had kept his distance from the main battle. More Knuckle troops had teleported in to support Octoshock. With his Congo Staff, he had no problem taking them all out as the other rangers finished off the monster. Behind Karen Octoshock fell to the ground in defeat.

-o-O-o-

"TEMPUS!" Xygar growled, "Your monster failed me!"

"He hasn't failed yet." Tempus answered calmly, "You can still revive his essence."

Xygar grinned and waved his claw before him, a ball of dark energy forming. Clasping his fist, the ball slowly engulfed his hand in black flames. A worm hole opened in the middle of the control room, ready to teleport anything that enters. "**By the power of chaos, let my monster rise!**" he screamed, hurling the black fireball in.

-o-O-o-

"This ranger thing's not as easy as I thought." Luke said as his team regrouped from the battle.

"At least it's over for now." Becca chimed in.

"Um guys, I don't think that this is over just yet." Tyler said as he pointed to a black ball flying through the sky.

The orb flew straight to where Octoshock stood moments ago and crashed into the grass. It splattered into a hole that started spewing out black fire into the air. The rangers looked on in terror as the black energy started to swell to massive proportions. Soon the familiar sight of Octoshock formed in, only now towering fifty feet high.

Syras voice rang out once again to the rangers. "It is time to call upon your zords rangers.

"Call our zords, how?" Karen asked.

"Wait, I know this one." There was a quick pause, "You make sure they're home! Huh? Oh right, that's how! By calling forth the strength and intelligence in each of you." Syra replied.

"Let's do this then!" Luke shouted with a fist up and nodding.

"Yeah, and this time let's obliterate that beast once and for all!" Becca added.

"**We Need Mental Megazord Power Now!"** The rangers cried as they felt a part of themselves awakening.

The rangers looked on in awe as they saw some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet take on Zord form. A red leopard led the charge of the robotic creatures. To its right a purple iguana scurried about. On the left a green elephant ran as if in the midst of a stampede. Above a blue raven soared through the air. Bringing up the rear was none other than a white horse galloping as though through a field.

The rangers were teleported to the cockpits of their respective zords. Their controls covered the dashboards, there steering devices and an assemblage of various buttons that provided different attacks and movements. Most interesting was a circle that had the impression of a hand with the animal etched in on tribal form. The rangers all reached for the handprint at the same time. In an instant, four beams of light shot from each zord to the others.

"**Warrior Mentalmode Activated."** A robotic voice called out from nowhere.

The green elephant flipped onto its front legs and spread its back legs. As its head repositioned to the center, the purple iguana split from the middle with the head sliding into center. The iguana settled on top of the elephant, its head now as the Warrior Mentalzord's. Its front legs latched onto the elephant's sides to reconnect with its back legs, steam releasing as they attached.

The leopard split open to allow the iguana's head to enter from the inside, the leopard's open mouth acting as a helmet. The body connected with the elephant's back legs, adding thickness to its limbs and giving the zord shoulders. From the air, the Wings of the raven attached to the back while the rest plit into two halves the quickly slid over the elephant's legs and wrapped around to lock the zord into place. The raven's beak opened and closed as a clawed hand.

To finish the transformation, the elephant's front legs jet the entire thing up into the air with rockets at the bottom of the feet. The horse stopped in a spot behind the zord, it's legs folding back. On the ground it's body turned to the side with the head in the same place. With it's head sideways, the horse started to split in half. The zord hovered over to the horse as it's body lifted with the head halves still on the ground. The zord's rockets faded, dropping it into the horse sockets.

"Warrior mode initiated."

"This is incredible." Jace said as his fellow rangers joined the central cockpit.

"It's absolutely amazing!" Karen shouted in awe.

"Wow." Tyler said at a loss for words.

"That monster doesn't have a chance." Becca spoke with excitement.

"Let's end this rangers." Luke declared.

With their megazord formed the rangers took on the newly enlarged Octoshock head first. The creature tried to shoot lightening at the Zord, but it didn't even phase it. The Mentalmode megazord ran forward and punched Octoshock directly in the armor, bending the metal. Octoshock flew back, rolling on the ground once he landed. Trails of smoke and lines of open black energy covered the creature as it got back up.

It wasn't out of tricks yet as he launched his tentacles at the rangers like missiles. Sparks shot out of the Zord, the tentacles striking repeatedly. One of them wrapped around the zord, electricity traveling from the creature through it. As the Zord was bombarded and zapped, the blue ranger got an idea.

"You guys, let's call on the Sword of Mentality."

"**Sword of mentality activate" **The rangers shouted, all of them receiving a drain of mental energy. A giant Silver sword slid out of the right arm of the megazord out of the beak claw. The handle was caught in an instant, followed by a diagonal slice. Octoshock's tentacle slipped off from the Zord, the remaining end reseeding back to the creature.

"Not again!" The monster cried.

"This is the end for you Octoshock." Red ranger called.

"Psychic Slash!" The rangers shouted together, the blade ripping across the creature.

Octoshock screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground, bursting into black flames. There would be no rising from the ashes this time.

-o-O-o-

The teens teleported back to Dimitria's palace, heads held high in their victory. Syra cheered with them as she jumped in joy.

"So how do you rangers feel?" Dimitria asked with a knowing smile on her face.

"Awesome! Incredible! Amazing! Super!" The cries of happiness came from left and right in a clamor of glee. The exception was Jace however, who said nothing at all.

"And you my blue ranger, how do you feel?" Dimitria probed.

"Terrible…" Jace said. "If you will excuse me I have things that need to get done before school starts tomorrow." He quickly teleported out of the chamber in a blue flash of energy.

"Hey Ty, do you know what's up with Jace? He refused to even fight Octoshock until he was giant sized and the entire battle he seemed detached." Luke asked in wonder.

"You know Luke, as his supposed best friend you really don't know anything about him. Think about it in the three years you have known him he has never lied, he hasn't gotten into an actual fight, he hasn't even got into an argument with any of us." Jace avoids any and all types of conflict." Ty said in a voice that almost lashed out.

As the words were spoken out loud they really sunk in around them the teens really had been oblivious to Jace and it made them wonder about their friendship as a whole. Just how strong was it?

"Rangers don't forget that each of you was chosen for a reason." Syra spoke for the first time since they arrived back at the palace. "Stop referring to this place as the palace as well this is the power chamber. Your power chamber. Anyways as I was saying each of you was chosen for a reason."

"Luke you were chosen because of your courage and bravery you aspire to be the best you can even if you don't want others to know it about you. Regardless of how tough you act on the outside inside you are just filled with insecurities. You are the strength of the team"

"Becca you were chosen for your moral values and the way you put others above yourself. Deep down you want someone who will do the same for you. You are always putting others first which goes to show how great of a person you actually are. You are the soul of the team"

"Tyler you were chosen for your ability to reason and make the difficult decisions. You never feel like you are smart or talented enough because you surround yourself with people that make you strive to be better than you are. You are the intellect of the team"

"Karen you were chosen for your passion and creativity. You are always looking for the beauty in any situation and you can see the goodness in everything. You feel that everything happens for a reason but sometimes you lose sight of that and you wonder why you feel the way you do. You are the hope of the team."

The rangers looked around at each other as they realized Syra had pegged them perfectly.

"What about Jace?" Luke asked.

"Yeah why was he chosen?" Becca wondered aloud.

"Jace was chosen for his keen mind, protective nature, and desire to maintain peace. He wants to be all that he can be but in the back of his mind he feels he is never good enough. In a sense he is the odd one out because he dislikes violence. He is the heart of the team."

The chimes in the chamber went off once more and the rangers turned to face the crystal ball. What they saw and heard sent shivers down their spines.

-o-O-o-

Jace touched down on the ground at the outskirts of Ridgeworth Falls. The Waterfall flowed freely as it poured into the stream. Jace just listened to the running water, sitting on a boulder next to it. One of his hands skimmed the top of the steam, the water veering around his fingers. He stared into empty space, his eyes unfocused and blurred.

What am I doing? Who am I kidding trying to be a ranger? It's not like I am actually of any use. What good is a ranger that doesn't want to fight? I still feel the guilt. It's never going to leave me. But why do I feel it? A monster bent on world domination and I'm sorry for it. What could be causing it?

He pounded his fist into the stream, his hand sinking into the loose soil underwater.

"So the turtle is without a shell?" A dark and detached voice called quietly to the ranger. "Nothing left but the soft core to be devoured."

Jace turned around with a look of expectation.

"I should have known that you would find me here, Gokamé."

"You know of me?" Gokamé asked interested, "How?"

"The same way I know what the Agents of Force are planning. The only reason I am here is to stop you."

"And just how do you plan on doing that? Tempus already told me about your avoidance to confrontation and with you out of the way the other rangers will easily fall. I only need to take one brick to crumble the monument."

Jace stood up with confidence, "Well Gokamé I am sorry to disappoint you. I am not going down without a fight and even when you do beat me, my fellow rangers will stop you."

"So then it's decided. I start this here and now with you and finish it with your friends as they mourn your loss." Gokamé mocked, envisioning victory.

"They won't be mourning. I'm easily replaced and quite frankly not that useful to them." Jace said in a quiet voice that seemed to already admit defeat.

-o-O-o-

"He can't actually think we don't need him, can he?" Luke asked the others viewing the crystal ball.

"I don't think so. He is always there when we need him." Becca responded.

"He's always so confident and sure of himself though." Karen said thinking about how he acted in the past.

"But he has also been sure to keep us at a distance." Tyler added, "Yes, he calls us friends and does stuff with us but aside from being there when we need his help… he isn't around." He realized that he wasn't the least social member of the group. Despite being quiet and reserved himself, Jace was always just there and nothing more.

"Rangers, would you consider assisting your friend?" Dimitria's words snapped them back to reality. The teenagers looked amongst themselves, giving one another confident grins. Luke held his fist up to his chest.

"Let's do this!"

-o-O-o-

"Your broken spirit will be your undoing!" Gokamé said in a hushed voice before he charged the boy.

Jace reacted unnaturally fast as he ducked out of the way of the incoming sword strikes. With every stab, Jace stepped aside. With every slash, Jace dodged. Gokamé started huffing in frustration, his sword hitting nothing but air. During Jace's backing up, he neared the large rock formation against the waterfall. Gokamé put most of his weight in his stab, having the dark sword wedge itself inside the stone.

"Curse your psychic ability blue ranger. You can't dodge my attacks forever." The villain spoke starting to get flustered. After a trail of black electricity channeling through its arm, the dark sword blasted a hole straight through the rock. With its sword free again, Gokamé continued his flurry.

"All I have to do is wear you down for them." Jace said as the familiar ring started in his head.

"For who you pathetic ranger?" Gokamé screamed as his blade connected with an unmorphed Jace. The blade slashed diagonally, shredded his shirt and sliced bare skin. Jace fell to the ground in agony as the monster stepped forward to finish the job. Jace only looked down in defeat, awaiting what was about to be come.

"Energy Daggers power up!" a voice cried from the trees as a set of daggers proceeded to bombard Gokamé. The villain parried the daggers away with its dark sword, one of the daggers digging into the dirt between Jace's hands.

The Red ranger leaped in between Jace and Gokamé, his Psy Lance at the ready.

"You're too late Red ranger your friend will be dead before I can defeat you." The demon like creature spoke, boiling over with pride. Luke glanced behind to see red pooling in Jace's shadow.

In an instant, the three other rangers burst into the field as well, all with their weapons in hand.

"I see you brought friends. We will have to do this another time. I have other matters to attend to. Count your blessings rangers, they are too few…as well as your days." Gokamé's wings spread out, dripping black slime on the ground at his feet. It bent down, flexing its large bat-like wings and shot into the sky. The rangers flew back from the shockwave, Gokamé's flight creating a sonic boom high up in the clouds.

As the leaves fell from Gokamé's power, the other rangers surrounded their fallen teammate. Jace ceased to hold himself up, his body limp on his side.

"Is he…" Karen started to say, but was unable to finish her sentence as her eyes glistened with tears.

"I can't pick up on any thoughts." Ty said quietly.

Luke backed away slowly, holding in everything. He wanted to act like Karen, crying and feeling hopeless. But he couldn't show it. He couldn't show weakness at a time like this. His mind traveled back to the time they first met. All the things they had done together. If Jace was gone now, it just wouldn't be the same.

Becca was the first of the rangers to approach Jace. They often joked around but they were the two in the group that had the most issues. She knew it would be too hard on their friends to check him. It was hard enough on her. She didn't want to, but the others didn't attempt to even budge. They were stiff, only the leaves swaying in the wind and the water flowing by.

She bent down and placed her fingers around his neck, checking for a pulse. When she felt that small rhythm on the edge of her fingertips, she jumped up startled.

"He has a pulse!"

Before anyone could say a thing Luke had snatched up Jace and tried to teleport out, only to find out that the teleport was blocked.

"Dimitria! Syra! Why won't you let me teleport?" Luke cried angrily. "Jace won't make it if I can't!"

"He was not injured as a ranger. He was a civilian since he didn't morph." Syra's voice rang out crystal clear.

"If he wasn't a ranger he would have never been attacked." Becca pleaded.

"The teleportation grid is only to be used for ranger transportation to battle and from the chamber. Didn't you read the instruction manual?!" Syra's voice continued almost in a mocking way. In the command center, Syra hoisted up a giant table sized book and dropped it on the ground. The whole place shook as Syra wiped her forehead and rested her elbow on the top cover, "On second thought, it's a good thing you didn't read it."

You!" Syra growled overdramatically, "This is all your fault. If you Inqurians didn't have those rules, this would of never happened!" She spun to now be in a pirate outfit with a cutlass in one claw, "Mutiny!" Sounds of glass breaking and Syra yelling filled the communicator.

"Fine then. We have to hurry to my jeep. Thankfully we drove it here." Luke ordered as he ran, with Jace held in a fireman's lift. The other rangers followed behind.

As they arrived at Lukes jeep they demorphed, Luke setting Jace down in the back. Becca telekinetically held his wound shut, both hands over his chest. Ty and Luke hoped in front as Karen jumped in back. The jeep took of racing down the hill with little time to spare.

Luke made it into the city in record time. In a trip that usually takes an hour, he was entering the outskirts after only 20 minutes. While the vehicle flew by, it caught the attention of a parked police vehicle. The squad car roared into action, catching up with Luke right away.

"Ugh, of all the luck." Luke groaned, reluctantly stopping the vehicle. The officer approached the vehicle with a giant familiar smirk on his face.

"Well well, if it isn't Luke." Cody taunted as he approached the window. But once he saw Luke's face that smirk fell.

"Cody," Luke said with a shaken voice, "Jace is dying. Please, we need to get him to the hospital."

Cody saw the blood on Jace's shirt and looked back at Becca who was pressed against him.

The expression of concern dripped down over his mouth, "You've got it. Stay on my tail." Cody said as he rushed back to his cruiser.

"Dispatch, I am providing an emergency escort to the hospital. Call ahead to get the doctors ready to take action." He spoke into his radio as he took off, siren wailing.

With the escort from Cody they made it to the hospital in ten minutes. As they pulled in, the nurses were waiting for them with a stretcher in front of the emergency room. The teens watched as they moved Jace from the vehicle to the stretcher, all four of them completely lost in their own thoughts. Jace was rushed in, the four walking slowly behind.

They went to sit in a small corner of the room where they could feel the pain quietly, seeing their friend disappear past the double doors into the hallway. The minutes flowed by seamlessly, none of them saying a word. They would just take glances at one another now and then, seeing the same look they felt inside. None of them moved until a thought hit Tyler.

"His parents." Ty said concerned as he grabbed his cell phone, running to the outside. He quickly proceeded to dial Jace's home phone number.

-o-O-o-

Mrs. Rynal just finished cooking lunch when the phone started ringing. Her husband led the jumping dog over to the kitchen door to go outside.

"Honey can you grab that for me?" She said searching in the refrigerator for their drinks.

"Sure thing darling." He replied, grabbing the phone from the wall. He glanced down and recognized the number as Tyler's immediately.

"Hello Tyler. Let me guess Jace left his phone at home again and wants to know if he can stay with you or Luke tonight." He was only met with static.

"Umm Tyler, hello? Are you there?" He spoke into the phone once more.

"Ye.. I.. I'm here." Tyler spoke, finding his voice however shattered it sounded.

"Tyler are you okay?" Mr. Rynal asked as he heard the poor boy speak. "You sound like a wreck."

"I okay, but Ja… Jace isn't. We're at the hospital and he was rushed into surgery. I called right as I realized you didn't know. I'm so sorry." Tyler started to break down.

didn't hear anything Tyler said after "surgery". He had dropped the phone and rushed to grab his wife.

-o-O-o-

Ty didn't hear anything on the phone, making him hang up instantly. He dropped his head and let out a heavy sigh. From the hospital outside, he saw the cars passing by in the street nearby. People walked through the street to their personal destinations. It was as if nothing happened a little less than an hour ago. It was as if the world just ignored the attack it just suffered.

"Are they even worth it?" Ty mumbled to himself. He turned back with his head down, the doors sliding open for him.

He slowly made his way back to the others, only to see that the doctor was approaching the group.

"Are any of you family members of the young boy?" The doctor asked in a professional tone.

"No, but I just called his parents. They are on the way. Is there anything you can tell us?" Ty asked as he rejoined his friends.

"Unfortunately no.." The doctor was cut off as a man bolted into the hospital with a weeping woman behind him. The lady rubbed her nose with the back of her fingers and sniffed.

The man looked around bewildered until he saw the group of teens in the corner.

"Tyler, Rebecca, Karen thank God you are all safe." Mr. Rynal spoke as they rushed to their son's friends. He glanced around and seemed puzzled as to why Luke wasn't there.

"Luke?" He chirped.

"Here." Luke said as he approached the others.

The doctor approached the two adults, "You must be the young man's pare.."

"Jace." Mrs. Rynal interrupted, "Is he all right? Please tell me he's all right."

Her husband rubbed her arm in a comforting hug, "It's okay honey, Jace is just fine. Tell us straight doctor."

"Yes, Jace." The doctor started again. "If you would follow me to my office we could discuss your son's condition."

"Anything you have to say about Jace you can say in front of his friends. They are practically family." Mr. Rynal said regaining his composure.

"Alright then. Your son was brought in at 1:45 this afternoon with a major incision that sliced from his right pectoral to the left side of his abdomen. Thankfully the wound wasn't too deep and he should be perfectly fine after it heals over." The doctor allowed a moment for the news to sink in before he continued.

"By some miracle none of his major organs were injured and we have been able to successfully seal the wound. I must insist however that he does not do any taxing behavior. This includes keeping him from school the first week. The wound is simply too rough to risk reopening and could cause complications if it does."

"Of course he won't be going to school, that would be mad. assured. "When would we be able to take him home though?"

As if on cue a news clip began playing on the local news station. The news showed footage from the park with an added twist. The reporter spoke of the monster attack however before the rangers arrived it showed the four teenagers sitting before them and the young man currently waiting in recovery as they charged into action to protect their fellow citizens. The film showed Jace being slashed through by one of the Knuckles and as he fell the rangers intervened and sent the teens to safety.

_Don't question this rangers, Dimitria has manipulated memories and film to provide you cover. _Syras voice rang out crystal clear.

"Yes, he should be released at six o clock tonight after we check to see his wounds are stable. I will return to let you know if it's sooner."

As the doctor left, the teens and the parents felt the weight of grief vanish. They all wanted to jump up in joy, but didn't. They just continued to sit there, talking and waiting until Jace was able to leave.

-o-O-o-

Later that night the teens made their way through the road after leaving the fireside café. After Jace was released, the other rangers tried to relax at their usual hangout. It just wasn't the same without Jace there.

Luke stopped his jeep next to the sidewalk in front of Jace's suburban house. The four friends got out and approached the door. Mrs. Rynal opened the door after the first knock.

"I was wondering when you four would be stopping by. We were just about to have some pie, do you want to join us?" Mrs. Rynal offered as she allowed her sons friends into the house.

"I think we would all enjoy some pie after the nightmare today has been." Rebecca said speaking for all of them, giving Mrs. Rynal a bright smile.

"Of course you would." Luke remarked.

Rebecca didn't budge her perky grin while her left fist bashed into Luke's nose.

Once the group approached the dining room, they heard voices rising from the living room. They stood in shock as they heard Jace yelling in an actual argument for the first time since they had known him.

"I don't care what the doctor said! I am going to school tomorrow. This year is far too important for me to allow some minor discomfort to stop me."

Becca couldn't help but chuckle as she realized Jace was arguing about school. "Leave it to Jace to get upset about missing class."

Surprisingly though it wasn't Ty that cut her off.

"Can it Becca. This is a lot more to him than just school." Luke said, anger in his voice.

"Jace takes pride in his intelligence and commitments. He is one of four students competing for valedictorian this year. President of the student council, and he's running for senior class president on top of all of the other organizations he's in."

"You're right…" Becca said feeling badly about laughing.

The argument hadn't stopped just for their discussion however.

"You are in no state to move around the house, let alone the entirety of Ridgeworth high school." His father continued raising his voice which surprised no one in the group. The Rynals were amazing but Mr. Rynal was famous for his temper.

"I think that I am more than capable of determining exactly what I can and cannot do dad." Jace countered.

"Fine, if you want to go then it's your problem! Just don't say I didn't warn you." Mr. Rynal's voice was the end of the discussion.

The teens simply waited in the hallway feeling really awkward. When the argument ended, Jace's father walked into the dining room and jerked a little back when he saw they had company.

"Oh, hello gang."

"Hello Mr. Rynal." They all said in unison.

Mr. Rynal gave them a courteous smile, but it faded when he saw Luke.

"Right. Well you guys feel free to make yourselves at home."

Ty stood by in confusion as his thoughts raced on about his friend. Jace had been acting off ever since he collapsed at the power chamber and he still didn't know why.

"We need to get out there and talk to him." Ty said to his friends and to Mr. Rynal, "It's very important."

"Sure, that's fine. He'll be on the couch right in there." He pointed back into the living room, "Feel free to ask me or the misses if you guys need anything."

"Thanks." Luke said nodding as Mr. Rynal headed upstairs.

Ty looked back at his friends and they could feel the urge to address something inside him. Ty didn't say anything though. He just walked to the living room, the other rangers following. The group took a mental deep breath as they entered the living room where Jace now sat on the couch.

-o-O-o-

The small personal plane touched down on the empty field she knew that this was not a good place for her to land. For the last few minutes the engine sputtered out, forcing the pilot to dip and swerve the plane. The single propeller at the nose stopped, finished with a black smoke cough. The hatch opened to let the pilot out.

"Why are you acting up like this?" The pilot asked in a feminine voice. She dropped onto the cleared out farm land. "I paid good money for you and you start acting up on me?" She groaned when she saw the trail of smoke, "How can this get worse?"

She was surrounded by five Knuckles that teleported in a flash of light. They slowly approached her as she took off her helmet.

"I guess you're here to help me blow off some steam, huh?" Kimberly Ann Heart took a breath, once again charging into a battle with the forces of evil once more.

-o-O-o-

Author Notes: So the rangers were successful in battle but they still have their various issues to overcome. In the next chapter we learn a part of what Jace saw in his vision and we also see what happens when Karen feels the weight of her responsibilities crushing her. Kimberly is back I am not sure for how long yet though but I think she will stick around to help Karen. Until next time.


End file.
